Springfield College Alumnus Preparing the Big Show for NBC at the

Fri, 02/06/2026 - 12:00

By: Damon Markiewicz

Springfield College alumnus Nick Casanova ’07 is making his mark on the entertainment world this week as part of Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, Calif. Serving as NBC’s vice president of Programming and Rights Management, Casanova plays a key role with the network as it hosts the broadcast of the National Football League’s championship game and biggest event.

After nearly two decades with NBC, Casanova is stepping into his first Super Bowl experience—a milestone filled with genuine excitement. The Super Bowl has long transcended the boundaries of sport, evolving into a global cultural event. It’s the rare occasion when millions around the world tune in to the same game at the same time, and even the commercial breaks have become as eagerly anticipated as the final score itself.

“The Super Bowl is the most watched television show every year, so there is a lot of pride in making sure everything runs smoothly,” explained Casanova. “I am involved in the commercial formatting responsibilities. The NFL contract is very specific to the amount of commercial inventory NBC has available for each game during the season, and obviously the Super Bowl is the biggest game of them all. I will serve as a leading conduit between NBC, our sales team, our production team, and the NFL itself. What I help do is identify the length of our commercial breaks for each NFL broadcast, and then the sales team and production do their jobs.”

The Super Bowl audience within the United States averages more than 120 million viewers, so Casanova and the NBC team will use the days leading up to Super Sunday to make sure everything lines up perfectly from a broadcast show standpoint.

“Being so close to the Super Bowl, our sales team is mostly done with selling all of the commercial units during the game,” explained Casanova. “The week leading into the game, there is a lot of time working as a team in the production truck making sure everyone has everything they need for the show. There are a lot of moving parts with the Super Bowl, and being available to help with any requests that come up is a big focus leading up to the event. The NFL has many requirements that need to be met during the broadcast, such as promos for the halftime show, so we are always making sure we are fulfilling all obligations within the NFL contract during the broadcast show.”

Casanova’s work with the NFL goes beyond being a part of the Super Bowl broadcast. Prior to his current role at NBC, Casanova worked his way up in the company serving in multiple facets of the broadcast industry. From 2021 to 2025, he held the title of senior director of programming. In that role, Casanova provided daily oversight of NBC Sports Group programming and partnerships across broadcast and cable, while also playing a crucial part in NBC Sports Acquisition strategies. In addition to the NFL, Casanova services relations with the Premier League soccer, Big-10 football and basketball, the National Basketball Association, and Major League Baseball.

“There is a lot of partnership management that comes with my job,” explained Casanova. “My boss will work with our partners and determine what the schedule will look like. From there, I get to build out the schedules for the Premier League, College Football and Basketball and the NBA. I am helping build relationships and making sure we are fulfilling all of the requirements. No two years are the same, there is always something new to learn.”

When it comes to working at NBC, Casanova has just about done it all since first interning with the company back when he was a student at Springfield College. Following graduation in 2007, Casanova was hired by NBC and he has never looked back. Casanova’s success at NBC can be directly traced back to his experience as a Sport Management student at Springfield College. He credits the program and the professors for helping prepare him for professional success.

“I remember internships being so important within the Springfield College Sport Management program,” explained Casanova. “The way the internships are structured is perfect because it allows for students to fully immerse themselves into the career experience they are receiving. Students can spend a full day at their internship site and take on more responsibility. This allows for the leaders at the internship site to get to know the student really well, and build that trust in their work, which leads to giving the students more projects and experience.”

The culture at Springfield College was also a positive one for Casanova throughout his educational experience. He was continuously inspired by his peers and the work they were doing, and that made him want to work harder to ensure he was measuring up to a high-standard of excellence.

“Being around the Springfield College Sport Management program really fit into the saying of ‘A rising tide lifts all boats.’ I would see what other students were doing and it would encourage me to do a great job as well. I owe a lot to professors Bob Accorsi, Kevin McAllister, and Ken Wall. Professor Accorsi’s Public Relations class was legendary, and it taught me so much that I use today,” explained Casanova.

After nearly 20 years with NBC, Casanova looks ahead with excitement and anticipation. Yet during this Super Bowl weekend, he’ll take a moment to appreciate being right where he is—in Santa Clara, Calif.

“It’s an exciting time working the Super Bowl,” explained Casanova. “I am looking forward to the show, and I am sure everything will go well. I have been able to work multiple Olympic Games during my career, and we have the NBA All-Star coming up. NBC is pretty much the only job I have known, and it started during my time at Springfield College. It’s been a great fit.”